Attic cooling system



Jan. 18, 1966 H. w. WEBSTER ATTIC COOLING SYSTEM Filed Aug. 28, 1964 INVENTOR.

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United States Patent Ofifice 3,229,615 Patented Jan. 18, 1966 3,229,610 ATTIC COOLING SYSTEM Harold W. Webster, 1812 Brier Way, Carmichael, Calif. Filed Aug. 28, 1964, Ser. No. 392,769 3 Claims. (Cl. 98-41) The present invention relates to a system for cooling an attic using the output of an evaporator type cooler mounted upon the roof of the building.

Presently in use are evaporative type coolers mounted on roofs for cooling rooms below an attic. Frequently it is desirable to cool the attic before attempting to cool the rooms below the attic for the reason that the ceilings of the rooms below the attic become warmed by the heat radiated through the attic and it is diflicult to cool the rooms without first cooling the attic.

Such evaporative systems which are mounted on the roofs of homes employ a single duct for conveying the cooled air from the evaporator to the rooms to be cooled. Such ducts as are used in such systems travel vertically through the attic of such a home.

An object of the present invention is to provide an improvement in such a duct for diverting the cooled air from the duct to the space in the attic for cooling the attic.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improvement in the evaporative type cooling system for a home which employs a duct leading from the roof to the room to be cooled, the improvement consisting in a door in the wall of such a duct, the door being movable between the position closing the hole and the wall of the duct and the position closing the duct itself for diverting air out through the hole of the wall of the duct.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an improvement in the evaporative type cooling system for a home employing the duct which is simple to install, one simple to operate, and one which is economically feasible.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent upon the following description when taken in connection with the annexed drawing, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a duct connecting a room below an attic to the space above the attic with the present invention the duct being shown broken away, and

FIGURE 2 is a view taken along line 22 of FIGURE 1 with the doors in closed position.

Referring the greater detail to the drawing in which like numerals indicate like parts through the several views, the numeral designates the ceiling of a room with the ceiling 10 supported on the end or sides of joists 12 as in normal home construction. The ceiling 10 is provided with an opening 14 and a duct 16 extends from the opening 14 to a hole in the roof 18 over which is mounted an evaporative type cooler 20 here only shown in schematic form.

The cooler 20 normally produces cooled air from downward flow by gravity through the duct 16 and out of the opening 14 into the room below the opening 14. The cooler 20 generally has fan means for forcing the air downwardly in addition to the gravity flow of the cooled air.

The present invention provides means by which this cooled air may be diverted into the space around the duct 16 for cooling the air and passage out of the attic through the conventional louvers in the ends of the attic (not shown) as conventionally constructed into a home.

The present invention consists in providing for means for closing the duct 16 against flow of the cooled air from the cooler 20 and permitting this air to flow into the attic space. In order to do this the duct 16 is provided with opposed openings 22 and a door 24 closing each of the openings 22.

As the doors 24 are identical they will be described as the ones shown on the right hand side of the duct 16 in FIGURE 1.

A first strip of wood 26 is placed on the side of the duct internally thereof and a second strip 28 is positioned on the other wall of the duct opposite the strip 26. A bridging strip 30 extends between the mid points of the strip 26 and 28 and is secured thereto.

The doors 24 when in the down bridging position rest upon the strips 26, 28, and 30.

A hinge 32 connects each door 24 to the edge of the duct 16 at the lower end of the opening 22.

The doors 24 are moved by gravity from the position closing the openings 22 to the position bridging the duct 16 and diverting air outwardly through the openings 22 and means is provided for moving the doors 24 from the bridging position to the duct wall closing position.

Specifically, this means includes at least one cord 34 having a mid portion travelling over a pulley 36 secured to the duct wall with one end of the cord 34 secured to the door 24 and with the other end extending through the ceiling 10 and being accessible to a person in the space below the ceiling 10.

If desired springs may be employed to urge the doors to the bridging position and also if desired springs or latch means may be employed with the cords 34 to hold the doors 24 in the duct opening closing position as desired.

It will be seen therefore that at the will of the occupant of the house in which such a system has been installed, the attic space may be cooled and ventilated by the evaporative cooler installed upon the roof and the space below the attic later cooled by shifting the doors from the bridging position to the normal position closing the openings in the side walls of the duct 16.

While two doors are shown it is understood that a single door may be employed as desired with the sides of the door equal to the interior area of the duct and with suitable means for opening and closing such a door installed as desired.

While the installation has hereinbefore been described only in conjunction with a roof type evaporative cooler, it will be readily apparent that this inventive concept is equally applicable to central air conditioning systems or other analogous usages.

While only a preferred embodiment has been shown and described, other embodiments are contemplated and numerous changes and modifications in the invention may be shown without departing from the spirit of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In an evaporative cooling system for a house with an attic, said system including a generally rectangular vertical duct having the lower end thereof in communication with a space in a room under the attic and having the upper end connected in communication with an evaporative cooler installed upon the roof providing a direct through passage from said evaporator cooler to said space in said room, said duct extending completely through said attic, there being opposed openings on opposite sides of said duct intermediate the ends thereof in said attic, means for diverting cooled air from said duct to the space in the attic exteriorly of said duct, said means comprising a pair of oppositely openable and closeable doors, one normally closing each of said duct openings, said doors together being of a size and shape substantially equal to the cross-sectional area of said duct and being movable simultaneously from a horizontal position transversely across said duct exposing said openings to a vertical position opening said duct and closing said openings, said doors being movable by the force of gravity from the vertical position to the horizontal position, and remotely controlled manually operable means to eflFect the movement of said doors from the horizontal position to the vertical position.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1 together with a central transverse bar for supporting said doors in the duct bridging position.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1 in which said manually operable means includes a length of cord at one end secured to each of said doors and the other end extending into said room, and a pulley secured to said duct and supporting the mid portion of said cord.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,713,301 7/1955 McKann 9843X 2,767,961 10/1956 Frankland.

FOREIGN PATENTS 5 860,806 2/1961 Great Britain.

OTHER REFERENCES Publication: Heating and Air Conditioning Con- 10 tractor February 1958.

WILLIAM F. ODEA, Primary Examiner.

ROBERT A. OLEARY, Examiner.

15 W. E. WAYNER, Assistant Examiner. 

1. IN AN EVAPORATIVE COOLING SYSTEM FOR A HOUSE WITH AN ATTIC, SAID SYSTEM INCLUDING A GENERALLY RECTANGULAR VERTICAL DUCT HAVING THE LOWER END THEREOF IN COMMUNICATION WITH A SPACE IN A ROOM UNDER THE ATTIC AND HAVING THE UPPER END CONNECTED COMMUNICATION WITH AN EVAPORATIVE COOLER INSTALLED UPON THE ROOF PROVIDING A DIRECT THROUGH PASSAGE FROM SAID EVAPORATOR COOLER TO SAID SPACED IN SAID ROOM, SAID DUCT EXTENDING COMPLETELY THROUGH SAID ATTIC, THERE BEING OPPOSED OPENINGS ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF SAID DUCT INTERMEDIATE THE ENDS THEREOF IN SAID ATTIC, MEANS FOR DIVERTING COOLED AIR FROM SAID DUCT TO THE SPACE IN THE ATTIC EXTERIORLY OF SAID DUCT, SAID MEANS COMPRISING A PAIR OF OPPOSITELY OPENABLE AND CLOSEABLE DOORS, ONE NORMALLY CLOSING EACH OF SAID DUCT 